Darin woke up to the wonderful smell of something cooking.

For half a second, he thought maybe, his life had gone back to normal.

Maybe he wasn't the so-called reincarnated Dark Lord.

Maybe the cultists had lost interest.

Maybe no one would try to kill or worship him today.

Then he opened his eyes.

And immediately regretted it.

Because sitting directly across from him, in his tiny forge-turned-bedroom, was the fire sorceress.

She was leaning back in his only decent chair, arms folded, golden eyes watching him with far too much interest.

"Good morning," she said smoothly.

Darin stared at her.

Then at the small wooden table between them.

Then at the steaming plate of eggs and toast sitting in front of him.

"…Did you make me breakfast?" he asked, confused.

The sorceress nodded. "You seemed like the type to skip meals. A weak ruler is a dead ruler."

Darin blinked. "Uh-huh. And at what point did you break into my house to do this?"

"An hour ago," she said casually. "You're a very deep sleeper."

Darin slowly sat up, running a hand down his face. "Right. Cool. So, let me get this straight—you broke in, cooked breakfast, and then just… sat there waiting for me to wake up?"

"Yes."

Darin exhaled through his nose. "Yeah, okay, that's not creepy at all."

The sorceress gave a small smirk. "I've been patient long enough, Overlord. Now that we are alone, you will give me answers."

Darin grabbed a piece of toast and took a very long bite.

Then he pointed at her with it. "I literally just got out of bed. Can we at least wait until I finish chewing?"

She didn't even blink. "No."

Darin sighed.

It was going to be one of those mornings.

"Alright, fine," Darin said, rubbing his temples. "What exactly do you want from me?"

The sorceress narrowed her eyes. "I want the truth."

Darin shrugged. "Lady, I barely know what's going on most of the time."

Her fingers twitched, as if resisting the urge to set him on fire.

"You expect me to believe that?" she asked coldly.

"I barely believe it," Darin said, taking another bite. "But here we are."

The sorceress studied him for a long moment, searching for some hint that he was lying.

Then, finally, she spoke.

"There was a prophecy."

Darin groaned loudly. "Oh, come on. Why is it always a prophecy? Does nobody have hobbies anymore? Maybe read a book? Do some knitting?"

She ignored him. "The prophecy spoke of an overlord lost to time. A conqueror who would return when the world was at its most vulnerable. It said that he would reclaim his power, his throne, and his empire."

Darin rested his chin on his palm. "Mmhmm. Sounds exhausting."

She continued, undeterred. "The old kings feared him so much that they erased his name from history. But whispers of his return spread. And then—you appeared."

Darin frowned. "Okay, but did I actually do anything? Or did you all just take one look at me and go, 'Yep, that's our guy'?"

"You bear the mark," she said simply.

Darin scowled and yanked up his sleeve, revealing the oh-so-mystical birthmark on his wrist.

"This?" he said flatly. "This little blob? This is what convinced you?"

The sorceress didn't react. "You also wielded dark power."

Darin's eye twitched. "Okay, first of all, I did not wield dark power. I accidentally healed some guy when I touched him, which, by the way, I still don't know how that happened!"

"And the fire? The fireball?" she pressed.

Darin squinted. "What fire?"

She tilted her head. "The towering flames that erupted behind you last night. The way you blocked my fireball."

Darin froze.

Oh.

That.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "That, uh… that was not intentional."

The sorceress's expression darkened. "Lies."

Darin leaned forward. "I tripped."

She narrowed her eyes. "What?" This сhаptеr first аppеаrеd оn М|V|L^ЕМРYR.

"I tripped over a rock, fell into a torch, and set a pile of hay on fire. It was not a spell, not dark sorcery, not some grand declaration of power—I just have terrible balance."

Silence.

The sorceress stared at him.

Then at the table.

Then at the eggs.

For the first time since meeting her, she actually looked uncertain.

Darin stood up.

The sorceress tensed, preparing for an attack.

Instead—

Darin stretched, yawned, and said:

"Welp. That's enough destiny talk for one morning. I'm going back to bed."

He took one step—

And immediately tripped on his own chair.

The chair wobbled.

The chair toppled.

The chair hit the fireplace—

Which sent a cloud of soot into the air.

Within seconds, the entire forge was filled with thick smoke.

Darin, coughing violently, stumbled blindly toward the door.

From the outside, to the villagers watching—

It looked like he had just vanished into the darkness.

From inside the forge, Darin's voice echoed:

"I MEANT TO DO THAT."

The villagers lost their minds.

"HE CAN VANISH INTO THE VOID!"

"THE OVERLORD COMMANDS THE SHADOWS!"

"HIS POWER SURPASSES EVEN THE LEGENDS!"

The sorceress, now alone, sat completely still.

For the first time—she truly doubted herself.

Maybe…

The man she knew was still there.